Giclee reprint of an original lithograph from Volume IV of Jan Kops’ Flora Batava, published in 1822 in Amsterdam.

Launched in 1800 by agricultural commissioner Jan Kops and publisher Jan Christiaan Sepp, this monumental work was the very first comprehensive, illustrated inventory of wild plants, mosses, mushrooms, and algae native to the Netherlands. It holds the record as one of the longest-running serial publications in Dutch history, spanning 134 years across 28 volumes and 461 individual installments. It concluded its epic run in 1934.

Kops famously insisted that every illustration be rendered from live specimens collected entirely from Dutch soil. This meticulous approach required a rotating army of local botanical artists, engravers, and hand-colorists over more than a century.

The rowan or European mountain-ash (Sorbus aucuparia) belongs to the Rosaceae (rose) family and is one of the most ecologically vital and culturally rich trees native to Europe. In late summer, the tree yields dense, heavy clusters of brilliant, scarlet-to-orange pome fruits. While raw fruits contain parasorbine acid—which makes them tart and mildly toxic to humans unless cooked—they serve as a premier winter energy source for migratory birds like thrushes, waxwings, and starlings.